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I’d like your undivided attention for ten minutes. If you never read another post of mine, I hope it’s this one.
The rising cost of food worldwide is impacting us all.
In the United States, we are inconvenienced.
In Haiti, a family is eating dirt.
In the United States, we are using more coupons.
In Nigeria, 76% of a family’s budget is spent on basic food.
In the United States, we take for granted that our children will eat until they are full every day.
In Bangladesh, a child feels guilty for having one meal to herself.
In the United States, families are cutting back on snack foods.
In Uganda, a mother shares her one wish that her children will live to see adulthood.
In America, we are not considered a rich family. We often struggle to make ends meet. We’ve already cut our food budget significantly compared to what we normally buy.
But we’ve realized that we can easily cut more. We’ve decided we are going to eat only rice or beans for dinner once a week. We will eat a meal that is considered meager for us but plenty to much of the world. The bit of money we save will go toward sponsoring a child with Compassion.*
As we eat as a family, we will talk about how the money we save means life for someone else. We will show our children that they can make a difference. We will show our children what it means to be truly rich.
Will you join me? Make a difference in a child’s life forever. I dare you.
*Why we love Compassion
*Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating
June 19th, 2008 at 9:17 am
A very moving post, it is when we read things like this that we realise our woes are incomparable to what these children and their families have to go through.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:34 am
it is going to get worse before it gets better. and it is already affecting people in the U.S.A. The answer is people need to voluntarily stop or cut down on eating meat. Any amount to cut is good, but obviously more quicker is better.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Francie… I know we communicate through food, but as people who read my personal blog, or people who know me offline, can attest, this post is truly, heavily, up my alley, for lack of a better phrase. Thank you so much for this post.
I think about this a lot, particularly on my gluttonous days, when I eat to my heart’s content. I feel badly because I know that there are millions in the world who would be overjoyed to eat a quarter of my meal.
I will donate to Compassion right now, without a doubt.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:31 am
Thank you for reminding me that it has been too many months since I have given to charity. Along with the excellent work of Compassion, I’d like to also mention my favorite charity, Heifer International. They not only help provide people with food in the form of livestock and agricultural training, they teach them how to sustainably produce food from locally appropriate resources–no more reliance on food for the poor from countries half a globe away.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Katie,
That too is a worthy organization. The link is here if anyone would like to check it out. http://www.heifer.org/
Francie
June 24th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Gosh, what a timely and important message. Thank you very much for posting and reminding me of all my blessings. It was a good reminder to give, and I will, and I will also cut back. Thank you so much. Its a wonderful way to use the blogosphere.
Puja
August 16th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I know it is so hard (or impossible) for anyone of us sitting here on the internet to comprehend this sort of life. I started giving more than I could reasonably afford to charity each month (meaning no Starbucks for me…that isn’t even a REAL sacrifice!) I think everyone should pick a cause and at least set up an amount each month to give… it would make SUCH a difference in the world.